7awli حولي
Algerian Darja · noun
“7awli” (حولي) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning sheep, ram (especially the Eid one).
Meanings
- sheep, ram (especially the Eid one)
- yearling lamb
Usage
7awli means sheep, especially the ram bought for the Eid el-Kebir sacrifice. It is the most common term in Algeria in this context: people talk about the price of the 7awli, or go to the market to buy the 7awli. Originally, the word referred to a one-year-old animal. The plural is 7wala. Common, informal register. Note: the Arabic spelling is identical to that of the Standard Arabic 7awli, "around me", which can cause confusion in writing, especially in religious formulas.
Example
شريت الحولي تاع العيد البارح.
chrit el 7awli ta3 l3id lbare7.
“I bought the Eid sheep yesterday.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “7awli” but also “hawli”, “7aouli” and “haouli”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 7 is ha (ح), a breathy h from the throat.
Type “7awli” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “sheep, ram”: 7awli in Moroccan.